Edited by Elanor
Something felt off to Xie Tingxing, and he hopped backward onto one foot, his scalp numb. “Y-you, y-you, y-you, don’t come any closer!”
Unsatisfied, He Youwen stepped in front of Long Qingfu. “I’ll handle my own prey, no need for your help!”
“So…” Long Qingfu lowered his gaze, a hint of amusement in his voice as he stretched out the word, “you want to kill him?”
He Youwen froze, face uncertain. In the end, he was still a teenager; despite being capable of causing trouble, acting impulsively, and fighting, the hatred boiling within him was not enough to make him actually kill someone…
“You’re just being a coward. Let me do it.”
Long Qingfu rolled up his sleeves, the movement unhurried, matching the languid cadence of his voice. “If this child is willing to go so far as to defy you, he likely knows many of your secrets.
If you don’t take care of this, things will become problematic.”
Xie Tingxing’s palms grew sweaty, and his mouth felt dry. Unlike He Youwen’s clumsy attempt, Xie Tingxing could tell at a glance this man was serious—he really intended to kill him! The young boy had purposefully walked right into the trap laid by the portly boy, confident the boy wouldn’t dare do anything to him, but this Long Qingfu…was too dangerous!
Despite his arrogant demeanor, Xie Tingxing was cunning. Sensing something was amiss, he hastily signed for the others to hurry over. Your Young Master Xie is about to be killed! Hurry over here! Are you waiting to be punished by your Master Chu?!
The guards didn’t dare ignore his instructions. They all clustered around the young boy, except for one, who sped away under his leader’s instruction to return with a message for their Master.
**********
The pitch-black room was so dark that one couldn’t see their own hand in front of their face, and the eyes were rendered completely useless.
“Ahh—”
As soon as Qi Yingfei regained consciousness, she let out a frightened shriek.
“Shh—quiet. It’s okay, little girl—”
In the darkness, she couldn’t see the person beside her, only feeling a pair of soft hands envelop her own. They were cold and not as smooth as hers, but the palms were warm and reassuringly strong.
Qi Yingfei paused. The person beside her was—”Young Miss?”
“I’m no longer in the age of being a ‘Young Miss.’ My surname is Shen, and I’m the third child in my family. If you don’t mind, you may call me Sanniang.”
Shen Sanniang had woken up slightly before Qi Yingfei, and when she first came to, she, too, had been frightened. Her hands and feet were bound and tied to a pillar, rendering her unable to move. She couldn’t see anything, so how could she not be panicked? But she immediately realized that someone else was with her.
She sat on the ground, feet shackled, back pressed against a pillar, hands tied behind her back.
She could feel another person against her back, also bound to the pillar, their clothing smooth and soft like water, fine silk, the kind of attire worn only by the daughters of the wealthy.
When this person woke, her voice was soft and delicate, just as one would expect from a young lady. That’s why she felt she could reach out and hold her hand.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Pc j vjgx gbbw, ofjg mbeiv vglnf j qfgrbc wjv jii ys larfio. Dea klat rbwfbcf ab gfis bc jcv reqqbga fjmt batfg, atfs mbeiv yfmbwf fjmt batfg’r ragfcuat. Hl Tlcuofl qjerfv; tfg tfjgayfja ribkfv, jcv rtf ofia ifrr jogjlv.
As her rationality returned, she noticed a problem. “Your surname is Shen… Sanniang… Sanniang, are you from Xie-gege’s shop?”
Vtfc Vjccljcu kjr regqglrfv. “Lbk vlv sbe xcbk?”
“Zs Dgbatfg lr Hl Qfctjl,” Hl Tlcuofl gfqilfv.
Her family dealt in business, and her Elder Brother was close with Xie Tingyue. She didn’t know what her Elder Brother had been doing, but she knew he’d shamelessly helped his friend secure two bolts of the coveted Indigo Cloth. Shen Sanniang’s name was familiar, and the young girl’s quick wits allowed her to correctly guess the woman’s identity.
Shen Sanniang quickly deduced, “You must be Qi Yingfei!”
Qi Wenhai had only one Younger Sister, so this was indeed the girl’s identity.
The two weren’t entirely strangers, having suffered the same fate together. Qi Yingfei bit her lip, gripping Shen Sanniang’s hand tighter as if afraid something terrible would happen if she let go.
“Who…who tied us up? Why? Why?”
This wasn’t the first time she’d experienced such a thing; the last time it had been He Yuanqi, who had touched her and forced her to look at disgusting things…
The young girl trembled in fear.
Shen Sanniang sighed, her voice finally breaking through, “You and me, Qi Wenhai’s business and Xie Tingyue’s Indigo Cloth… Could this be some sort of business transaction?”
Her job at the dyeing workshop was only to dye fabric, not handle business. But as someone who had lived many years, she knew to be wary and kept an eye on her surroundings. However, the girl’s shaking…was too violent.
As she pondered, she recalled the incident at the Chu Family’s Plum Banquet. He Yuanqi had barged into the event and made a spectacle of himself; the entire Capital had heard, though the specifics were unclear. Yet she knew that this young girl must have been harassed by him before.
Shen Sanniang couldn’t help but curse He Yuanqi under her breath, wishing ill upon his eighteen generations of ancestors. To prey upon such a young girl truly sullied his soul!
Once wasn’t enough, so he came for a second round? Shen Sanniang judged that this man must be consistently despicable.
“Be good, don’t be afraid, I’m here with you, and I won’t let anyone bully you.” Shen Sanniang consoled Qi Yingfei by squeezing her hand tightly. “Our Young Master is a good person, and he will come save us.”
She just wasn’t sure if he would think to come from this direction.
It was fortunate that Qi Wenhai wasn’t an old-fashioned Brother who cared only for a woman’s reputation, and that he knew to seek help from his Young Master Xie. Once word of the Young Master’s plight reached Qi Wenhai, there was no way he would miss this opportunity to gather all the information on both parties.
Qi Yingfei was still shaking. “But it’s so dark here, we don’t even know where we are. Will Gege…be able to find us?”
“Our Young Master is so clever; he’ll definitely find us!” Shen Sanniang declared confidently.
“But we mustn’t panic; if we panic, our cries will attract others, and I can’t imagine what might happen. Come, let’s help each other loosen the ropes binding our hands.”
In truth, Shen Sanniang had very few interactions with Xie Tingyue. She wasn’t a member of the household, but rather someone who had been hired on as a servant. Her initial impressions of him had come from rumors, until her Mother fell ill and Xie Tingyue gave her a ginseng root.
A hundred-year-old ginseng root, something far beyond the means of a lowly servant girl like herself.
It wasn’t difficult to understand the world, so long as one was willing to observe. Even though Shen Sanniang did not have much interaction with the Young Master, she’d gradually learned that he was a kind, generous, and magnanimous person, but also that he had his own limits—though perhaps none when it came to doting on his Younger Brother.
Shen Sanniang was nobody of importance, and her sale didn’t bring in much money, but she knew with certainty that the Young Master wouldn’t abandon her; he would most certainly come to her rescue.
Their hands were tied tightly together, but it wasn’t impossible to undo the knot with some force.
The shackles around their feet, however, were made of iron and could only be opened with a key. There was no way for two unaided women to break them open, nor did they have any tools with which they could smash the locks.
And they were blinded by the darkness, unable to see.
They could only grope around within the confines of the chains, feeling for anything in the room.
It was clean, devoid of any objects save for the pillar to which they were bound. Perhaps it wasn’t that there was nothing in the room, but that everything had been moved away from the walls; the chains were too short for them to move much farther than the pillar.
The two ladies struggled to decipher the faint sounds coming from outside.
Shen Sanniang seemed disheartened. “There’s no other information…”
“That’s not true—listen, do you hear water?” Qi Yingfei tugged on Shen Sanniang’s sleeve.
“Listen—”
Separated by the sealed walls, the sound was a bit distant and unclear, but upon closer listening, the flow of water could indeed be heard.
“There’s a river nearby?” Shen Sanniang asked.
“It’s winter now, and the lakes have all frozen over, so any flowing water would likely be…”
From the moat!
The two women’s spirits lifted at this possibility.
But upon further consideration of the terrain, they both sighed.
“The moat surrounds the city, but the closest point to us would be Nanshui Street, which borders the Southern edge of the city.”
“Nanshui Street is lined with shops, and each little store has at least five, six, seven, eight rooms… Even if the Young Masters made it this far, how would we be found?”
“With so many shops, there would be many people, and someone may have seen us.”
“That’s not certain. With such a large crowd, we wouldn’t have heard any voices, so this room must be very well hidden.”
**********
Chu Mu had been following Xie Tingyue for three private residences already, but he wasn’t tired at all. His wife truly was wise and decisive, handsome in every moment.
Though he knew two young women were in danger and his heartstrings were taut, he felt at peace as long as Xie Tingyue was within his line of sight.
There was no good news from Qi Wenhai’s end. Lu Li sent a message to say that, according to their intel, He Yuanqi was likely involved, but the suddenness of the kidnapping meant that further investigation would take time. They believed that He Yuanqi had arranged this first before he died, so even if the kidnappers had planned contingencies, they would likely be unable to carry them out. Shen Sanniang and Qi Yingfei were likely not in mortal danger, but there was still the possibility of an unfortunate accident.
Lu Li would do his best to investigate and bring better news as soon as possible.
Chu Mu relaxed slightly, but Xie Tingyue might have caught him. He ducked his head and turned his wheelchair to hide behind a large tree.
Xie Tingyue was parched and was drinking water, but when he looked into the distance, he spotted a figure dressed in white, seated in a wheelchair?
Chu Mu?!
But when he set down the water bottle, the white figure had disappeared. Had he imagined it?
Xie Tingyue pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking he must be overthinking. Why would Chu Mu come to a place like this? He should be at home, watching his little Brother study.
After Brother Dong finished serving him water, he asked, “Young Master, where to next?”
“Er—” Xie Tingyue’s fingers had landed on another residence outside the city on the map, and his expression froze.
This was the third similar location he’d searched, and there was no sign of the missing pair. Perhaps he had been looking in the wrong place all along?
People would hide something in the most secretive and private place they could find, where no one would think to look. Most wouldn’t dare attempt such a thing, but only the very clever would consider it.
Xie Tingyue had to admit that He Yuanqi was somewhat clever, but his actions didn’t seem like those of someone who could successfully pull off such a scheme. The city center was the most bustling part of town after all, and keeping a secret in plain sight would be exceedingly difficult.
If this were He Yuanqi’s doing, he would have been supremely confident in his hiding spot. A private residence might give him confidence, but it could still be discovered, as Xie Tingyue himself was doing right now.
What other places could instill such confidence?
Xie Tingyue narrowed his eyes slightly as he considered a new direction—the most frequented locations.
Why would someone frequent a place? Because they were familiar with it, because they were confident no one would find them here. No one would overhear their conversations, and even if someone did, they had ways to deal with it.
Xie Tingyue’s slender finger made a sharp turn, landing on a new destination: A riverside tavern by the moat.
“Let’s go here.”
Poor girls. I hope they got rescued soon.
Thank You for the new chapter（♥￫ｏ￩♥）
Chu will beat anyone who says his husband isn’t smart senseless with his wheelchair, then get back in it and play the pity card for all he can
Thanks for the chapter
Go quickly!!